Showbread, or presence of bread, was a weekly offering of 12 cakes or loaves of bread placed on a special table in the Jerusalem Temple. The bread was left on display for a week and then replaced with fresh loaves on Saturdays. The recipe was guarded by priests and the bread was considered holy, with the old loaves eaten by the priests in a sacred place. The custom was not unique to the Israelites and may have originated from the idea of always having food present before a deity. The original recipe is unknown, but it is likely that the bread was unleavened.
Showbread, shebbread or presence of bread are cakes or loaves of bread arranged in two piles or rows on a special table in the Jerusalem Temple. Twelve pieces of showbread were always on display in the presence of Yahweh or God and replaced with a new batch on the Sabbath. The previous week’s bread was then eaten in a sacred place by the priests. This offering was baked with flour, but the actual recipe was well guarded by the priests and remains elusive.
Exodus 25:30 requires the show to be permanently exposed in God’s presence. Leviticus 24:5-6 describes bread as a dozen cakes or loaves baked with refined flour which are placed on a table in piles or rows before God. Incense cups were placed atop each pile or row of sheep’s bread as a memorial. Other biblical books such as the Book of Chronicles, the Book of Samuel and the Book of Kings also mention aspects of this offering.
The bread was left on display for a week and then replaced with new loaves on Saturdays so that the offering was always fresh. The loaves were probably made the day before the Sabbath. Since the bread was considered holy, the priests were allowed to eat the old loaves in a holy place. The right of priests to consume the bread of the show was not exclusive. In 1 Samuel 21:4-6 it is recorded that a priest gave an old loaf of bread to David in Nob.
Biblical regulations specify that the bread is to be placed on a table located in the northern part of the sanctuary. Between this table and the Menorah is the incense altar. Some sources claim that the table was made of solid gold, while others state that it was gold-plated acacia wood. The table was portable and was covered in a bluish-purple cloth as it was moved.
The showbread custom was not unique to the Israelite community. The Babylonians and Assyrians also offered 12 (or a multiple of 12) cakes or loaves of bread on tables before their gods. It is uncertain what the religious significance of the number 12 is for these cultures. Babylonian cakes were made with wheat flour as display bread, but also had to be sweetened.
These three costumes are thought to have developed independently. The underlying idea was the same, however: food should always be present before a deity so that it can be consumed whenever she decides to appear. The burning of incense rather than the bread itself indicates to some researchers that the origins of the custom are buried in antiquity.
The original recipe of the show is not known because the preparation stopped when the temple was destroyed in about 70 AD. While it was not displayed on the altar, it is likely that the bread was unleavened because it was carried into the inner sanctum. There has been some research into possible techniques and ingredients and two forms. It is possible that the tradition of serving leavened braided challah bread on Saturdays and holy days is a reminder of the ritual of the performance.
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